Thursday, January 01, 2015

By now, many have heard the story of
Eric Garner and have seen the
video of his death at the hands of the NYPD. Initially
approached by the police for his involvement in breaking up a fight,
he was then accused of selling loose single cigarettes (for what
would amount to the profit of a few pennies). He was then accosted
by police officers, became indignant at having to suffer yet round of
harassment, and had this to say
in response:

“Get away [garbled] … for what?
Every time you see me, you want to mess with me. I’m tired of it.
It stops today. Why would you…? Everyone standing here will tell
you I didn’t do nothing. I did not sell nothing. Because every time
you see me, you want to harass me. You want to stop me [garbled]
Selling cigarettes? I’m minding my business, officer, I’m
minding my business. Please just leave me alone. I told you the last
time, please just leave me alone. Please, please, don’t touch me.
Do not touch me.”

At that point he was placed in an
officially
banned choke-hold by a police officer. In his very last words,
gasping for air, Eric Garner repeated the following: “I can't
breathe.”

How
did we as a society arrive at the point where an incident like this
can transpire? A man breaks up a fight, gets accused of a
spurious crime, and then ends up dead at the hands of a police
officer who had repeatedly been accused of misconduct in the past.
That this ever happened at all is a tragedy; that it's an incident
which most wouldn't find particularly surprising... is a dystopian
nightmare.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

I've recently learned about the case of
Rodney Reed. He is currently on death row in Texas for the murder of
Stacey Stites. The curious thing about this case is that the
victim's family is convinced of Reed's innocence and believes,
instead, that the actual murderer was her fiance, Jimmy Lewis
Fennell, Jr..

At the time of Stacey Stites' death, Fennell was a
34-year-old police sergeant with the Georgetown, Texas, Police
Department. At the time of the murder Fennell was not adequately
investigated as a suspect. According to an article in the
Austin Chronicle, “Police
never searched the apartment Stites and Fennell shared, though it
was the last place she was reportedly seen alive, and they had
returned to Fennell the pickup truck she'd allegedly been driving the
morning she disappeared before thoroughly processing it for
evidence.”

Friday, May 10, 2013

The controversy surrounding genetically
modified organisms has persisted as the agricultural biotech industry
has continued to promote its creations around the world.
Unfortunately, many people still do not understand the issues
relating to genetic engineering and the products of that process.
The ignorance surrounding this subject can largely be credited to the PR efforts of corporate agribusiness. These PR efforts have been so
successful that at this point in time it can very difficult to engage
in honest civil discussion about the issues related to genetic
engineering and genetically modified organisms.

A popular accusation used against the
opponents of GMO technology is that they are the “climate change deniers of the left.” This dismissive accusation, while quite
cleverly crafted, entirely misses the substance and reality of the
issues at hand. For one thing, it serves to inaccurately classify
the opponents of GMO technology as leftists. This serves to
marginalize them along the arbitrary lines of a left/right political
dichotomy and casts the issue in a political light which is largely
irrelevant. But suffice it say that it's not just leftists who
oppose this technology. The next attribute of this phrase, equating
them to “climate change deniers,” also serves to create another
false parallel which can potentially serve to divide people. People
on the right side of the political spectrum don't want to be seen as
sympathizing with an issue of “the left” and informed people of
any political persuasion do not want to be equated with any sort of
climate change denial. But the reality of this accusation is that it
obfuscates the real issues at hand.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Originality, accuracy, and clarity can
be hard things to measure in terms of the written word. Originality
is always bound to some degree with the familiar. Accuracy, while
sometimes easier to assess, is rarely complete and can still lead us
to faulty conclusions. Clarity is largely dependent upon the ability
of any readers to comprehend, relate to, and think reasonably about
whatever is being presented to them. These three aspects comprise
but a general shortlist of problems a writer may face when trying to
compose something of worth and interest to the broader reading
public.

Underlying political and ideological
tendencies, which are engrained in the general public, further serve
to restrict a writers ability to find and captivate an audience. The
promotion of certain ideas, right or wrong, can even be dangerous to
writers who promote them. People have been burnt at the stake and
put before firing squads because of their ideas.

More commonly problematic is simply the
inability of writers to adequately reach a receptive audience. On
the simplest level this could sometimes be due to a writers limited
access to a suitable medium. However, even having access to modern
tools of mass communication does not guarantee that the message being
produced will reach a broad or receptive audience. The reasons for
this are many.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Many people who have spoken with me in
regard to the 9/11/2001 attack are well aware that I am often
perturbed and disgusted by many of the more outlandish conspiracy
theories associated with the events of that day. I've also commented
in many forums about the subject for the purposes of debunking the wilder theories. However... my disdain for the wilder theories, and
my belief that the operation itself was in fact carried out by
Islamic fundamentalist commandos, is not to suggest that I don't
believe in any possible complicity on behalf of any particular
members of any government.

Someone recently called me into
question about this in regard to an old blog post (which I had
actually written [as a Myspace post] before I started this blog in
2006). Since I did add that post to my blog, and because I try to
stand behind what I've submitted herein, I now feel obliged to take
some time to clarify my position.

Friday, March 15, 2013

In recent years a ridiculous notion has
been promoted in the United States. It's the idea that the
philosophy of anarchism is compatible with the principles of
capitalism. Proponents of this proposed ideological merger call
themselves anarcho-capitalists, market anarchists, or agorists. And
while anarchists around the globe may not believe in the seriousness
of those proposing the merger of these philosophies, I remind them
that the proponents we are talking about are primarily people within
the borders of the United States of America. This is the same land
that has also concocted the notion of “national anarchism” which
promotes racial segregation. These are concepts from “the land of
the free” – where more people are imprisoned in total numbers
(and per capita) than in any other nation. So, as absurd as it is, I
assure you that the idea of “anarcho-capitalism” is a real thing.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes." — William Gibson.

The Problem of Suicide: You Are Not Alone

As the survivor of an arduous suicide attempt I've subsequently come to contemplate this subject a bit more than most. Throughout the years I've seen friends, family, and loved-ones take their own lives. Each time I hear of another suicide I am reminded not only of my own attempt, but also the attempts by those I've known. To be perfectly honest... my response is probably indicative of some PTSD. But I'm more than a decade removed from my major depressive episode and I feel that the subject of depression and suicide ought now be addressed.

While a variety of factors contribute to individual instances of suicide and the overall suicide rate, I believe that progressive radicals, anarchists, and social justice activists have somewhat unique psychological factors that can also come into play. Although they are probably just as likely to suffer from problems like social isolation or drug dependency, I believe that those who are informed about the myriad of crises that humanity currently faces are given an extra punctuation in terms of reasons to be dismayed. So, in addition to any personal problems they may have, they are also aware that the world seems to be going to hell in a proverbial handbasket. And while I personally believe that's a fairly accurate assessment of things, I don't advocate suicide as a response to this reality.

Saturday, December 01, 2012

That's right slaves! The Stimulator, host of the most rad talk show on
the interwebs, "It's the End of the World as We know it and I feel
FINE," will be answering your questions in /r/AnarchistNews on the
morning of Monday, December 3rd, 2012, at 8am Central Time.

If you're unfamiliar with the Stimulator's work, you can find episodes of the motherfuckin' show at SUBMEDIA.TV and can you watch his excellent documentary, END:CIV, here.

So...
get your questions ready now! YOU KNOW he's got to have an excellent
recipe for tacos! And what's up with the "motherfuckin' tar sands?"
Where does he get all that top-notch riot porn?!

Friday, November 16, 2012

A few years back I spent some time in
the San Franscisco Bay area and had the privilege of hanging out at
the Long Haul infoshop located in Berkeley, California. The infoshop
hosted discussions about various radical topics and had a large
library and meeting space where meals were occasionally served.
Zines, books, and novel t-shirts were sold there to help make ends
meet. And, of course, the Slingshot newspaper was published there
along with the Slingshot organizer (which is distributed broadly at
many other infoshops and independent bookstores). And, I'm sure,
many of the things I've described still take place there.

However, it should be noted that the
tone, tenor, and direction of the space (and particularly its
publication) has undoubtedly fluctuated somewhat over the years.
This is to be expected of such a public institution (as the prominent
issues of the day change and those involved with the space come and
go – bringing and taking various qualities or points of focus).
And, when the space was raided in 2008, that undoubtedly shook things
up. Since that incident... I imagine a certain hard-core has
probably stayed away from the infoshop while undercover operatives
have possibly filled the void or, at the very least, continued their presence.
In any case, a tamer crowd has probably comprised more of the
community since the raid.

With those things in mind, I'd like to
make at clear that it is not my intention here to outright condemn
the Long Haul. It may still be serving as very valuable resource
within the broader anarchist milieu. But I must express my general
disappointment with the latest issue of Slingshot (issue #111, Autumn 2012). And, with that disappointment, I must wonder who is hanging
out at the Long Haul and what the community surrounding the space is
like these days.